When Life Gets You Down
by Anarchist278
Summary: My version of what we didn't see of the events between Sectionals and New Directions' performance for Mr Shue.
1. Comfort

**AN:- I have no idea what I'm doing starting another story but inspiration struck and the rest as they say is history. This sort of came out of nowhere and when I started it I fully intended for it to only be a One Shot but it kind of just wrote itself and even I was surprised by the finished product. This first chapter is pure angst but I'm fairly certain that there are happier times to come. I hope you all enjoy it. Now given that its after 1am and I have to be up by 6 I'm going to post this and go to bed. Will be looking forward to hearing what you think.**

**Disclaimer:- As always I have no ownership of Glee or any of its characters but I sure as hell would like to.**

**RPOV**

Sectionals were over, New Directions had been practically torn apart by the BabyGate scandal and yet here they were putting on brave faces and acting as if they didn't have a care in the world.

She watched as Kurt and Mercedes danced around the living room, the celebratory glasses of champagne they had all imbibed obviously taking effect on their co-ordination.

She could see Tina and Mike huddled in a corner together and for a moment she stopped to wonder just how Artie felt about this new development but when she searched him out she found him happily sequestered in his own dark corner with Brittany perched on the arm of his wheelchair giggling in his ear.

Santana and Matt were practically glued at the lips on the couch and she had to resist the urge to clap a hand over her eyes as she saw his hand slide underneath her shirt. She huffed in frustration as she still didn't locate the only person she really wanted to see but Finn was nowhere to be found.

She swung her head around too fast determined to find him and immediately felt the effects of the alcohol she too had consumed and brought a hand to her head while the other gripped the wall trying to regain her balance.

This victory party was not going at all how she had expected when she had impulsively invited all of the members, the 'real members' Jacob Ben Israel not included, back to her house. She had expected them all to toast their success together and she was sure there would have been more than a few toasts made in her direction after her outstanding solo but none of the anticipated salutations had been forthcoming. As per usual it was as if she didn't even exist.

She didn't even know why she was surprised, apart from the one brief moment of camaraderie between her and Mercedes the majority of the people currently in her home had done nothing to indicate that they had any interest in ever being her friend. Looking around with disgust once more she left the room determined to find Finn, at least he had given her moments where she truly believed he cared, however brief and often misleading they had been.

She stumbled slightly as she made her way to the kitchen but saw no sign of the tall quarterback there either. It would appear that he had left without even bothering to say goodbye. Noah and Quinn were nowhere to be seen either but she assumed they were off somewhere having some much needed private time to sort out their future and that of their unborn child. This party was a complete and total disaster and she sincerely doubted that anyone would even notice that she was gone.

She walked to the stairs, the natural high that had engulfed her ever since New Directions' win had been announced almost completely destroyed. Reaching the top of the stairs she paused momentarily as she heard Quinn's voice coming from the guest room, it would seem she and Noah hadn't left after all. She didn't want them to see her and assume she was eavesdropping but she had to go right past the room in order to get to her own. As she hesitated a moment longer with indecision welling in her gut, she heard a distinctly male and very familiar voice responding to Quinn and her heart dropped. Unable to resist the overwhelming urge to see it with her own eyes she crept forward, peering into the room. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the murky darkness of the room but suddenly a movement by the foot of the bed caught her attention.

She clapped a hand over her mouth trying to suppress her moan of despair as she saw Quinn throw herself into Finn's waiting arms, his head dipping to lay a kiss against the blonde hair that appeared to shimmer in the moonlight. As she watched Quinn lifted her head, bringing her hands up to cup his face and dragging his lips down to hers where they met in a kiss so filled with tenderness that Rachel felt tears well in her eyes.

She couldn't believe it, after everything they had been through in the last couple of days, everything she had done to try and free him from the web of lies he had been unknowingly embroiled in, and here he was back in Quinn's arms like nothing had ever happened.

Almost before she knew what she was doing her feet were moving, rushing her in the direction of the sanctity of her bedroom, tears streaming from her eyes.

She slammed the door behind her as she threw herself down on her bed allowing the sobs she had been choking back ever since she had seen them to finally erupt. Her whole body shook as she sobbed into her pillow and she was convinced that this must be how it felt to actually have your heart break.

**PPOV**

He had been sitting on her window ledge nursing what surely must have been at least his eighth beer when the door had opened emitting the hysterical girl into the room. He had sighed knowing that what he had seen the beginnings of half an hour before between the soon to be mother of his child and his ex best friend had obviously come to fruition.

He had watched as Quinn had gone upstairs waiting only a couple of minutes to try and formulate what he would say to her in yet another attempt to convince her to allow him to be with her and their child before following, but that brief space of time had been all that it had taken for Finn and Quinn to begin to find their way back to each other. There was no way he could stand there and watch their reunion so he had turned away from the door making his way to a room that he had been to before clutching a six pack in his hands.

He had intended to be well and truly gone before she had decided to come to her room, certain that she would be playing the role of hostess to her guests until every last one of them was gone and the party completely over but she had surprised him and now he had yet another thing to add to his list of things that were completely fucking up what should have been a pretty decent night given their triumph at Sectionals.

He watched as she cried, great wracking sobs at first that had gradually lessened to soft hiccups all the time debating if he could just get the hell out of there without her noticing. But watching her pain he had felt an answering ache within his chest and so he had stayed, not able to simply walk away as he so desperately wanted to do while she was in such torment.

He looked at her curled in a foetal position on her bed and couldn't sit there any longer. Placing his empty bottle soundlessly on the floor he had made his way over to the bed, toeing off his sneakers as he went before lowering himself down beside her, curling his body around hers.

He felt her body tense as she registered the bed dipping under his weight but she remained where she was seemingly beyond caring of just who it was joining her on the bed. He slid his arm around her pulling her back against his body needing the comfort of her in his arms just as much as she did. His fingertips grazed her neck as he pulled her hair off her face and back onto the pillow behind her before he rested his cheek on hers, lifting his head momentarily to breathe the words into her ear.

"Shh Berry, you're gonna be ok, now go to sleep," he could feel her body relax into his as she registered his words before her emotional exhaustion took over and she fell into a fitful sleep.

**AN:- There is now an unofficial fan page on Facebook for all of you Puck and Rachel fans. Just type Puckleberry fans into your search box and it should come up.**


	2. Distraction

**AN:- Ok so this story just won't leave me alone. The second chapter was just begging to be written helped in no small part by all of those wonderful reviews I received for the first chapter and of course all of you wonderful people who favourited the story and put it on Story Alert. It never fails to blow me away when people have such positive things to say. Anyway I'm totally sleep deprived after last night and a long day at work so once again I'm going to post and head off to bed. Hope you all enjoy. Oh and a small warning there is a smattering of smut in this chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer :- I still own nothing Glee related unless you count the first two albums from iTunes which have been getting a hell of a lot of play on my iPhone.**

**QPOV**

The house had gone quiet by the time she and Finn finally decided to leave. She was slightly shocked at the turn of events after she had gone looking for Finn upstairs but she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. She had been devastated when her secret had been revealed and had been forced to watch as Finn had turned away from her insisting that he was done with her. She knew that it was the wrong thing to keep the secret of her baby's paternity from him but she knew there was no way she could bare to lose him. Although their relationship had had its share of ups and downs, more recently it seemed there had been a lot of downs; she truly loved Finn and could see herself spending the rest of her life with him. The night with Puck had been a mistake and it was one she wasn't sure she could ever forgive herself for but now that Finn had forgiven her perhaps she could find a way to learn to live with it.

She came out of her reverie as she felt his hand ghosting across the skin of her face.

"Quinn are you ready to go?"

She nodded her assent, words failing her for the moment as she tried to process the enormity of what had just occurred.

"I just want to find Rachel and say goodbye before we leave," Finn told her and she was struck by the thought that a mere two days ago those words would have turned her stomach. She knew she would have been consumed with jealousy over her boyfriend's apparent obsession with the petite brunette but she couldn't bring herself to be angry now. When everyone had deserted her after the news broke of her and Puck's indiscretion Rachel had been the one to seek her out and offer her apologies for her hand in the disaster that had taken place. Although she couldn't ever see the two of them being friends, she understood why she had done what she had and she knew that in reality she really couldn't throw any blame at Rachel's feet for the debacle they had all found themselves caught up in. Rachel had simply been doing what she thought was right and although her motives may not have been strictly pure Quinn could hardly afford to be pointing fingers.

She looked up at Finn as she felt his eyes on her and nodded. "Yep let's go say goodbye," she agreed.

The house was dark and silent as she followed after Finn leading her towards Rachel's bedroom, she felt a momentary flash of irritation as he lead the way without hesitation towards another girl's bedroom but she clamped down on it immediately. Hadn't she just finished telling herself that she had no reason to be jealous of Rachel, the other girl may be a lot of things but she knew she would never willingly be the other woman while she knew Finn was taken?

Watching as he reached out a hand towards the door handle she suddenly reached out grabbing his arm. "Finn I think you should let me go first, after all for all we know she could sleep naked every night."

She saw the flush stain her boyfriend's cheeks at the idea of catching Rachel in a state of undress and told herself it was mere embarrassment and definitely not excitement but he stepped away from the door immediately.

Opening the door she gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the light struggling to contain her gasp of astonishment as she made out the outline of someone much larger than Rachel Berry lying in the bed with their back to the door. She froze as her eyes finally adjusted enough for her to make out the thin strip of dark hair running down the middle of the person's scalp. _'What on earth was Puck doing in Rachel's bed?'_

She jumped to the conclusion quickly that he had probably just had too much to drink and passed out in the nearest bed as he was prone to doing at parties but before she could back away she heard another sound that she never expected.

She heard the unmistakeable sound of a girl's voice whimpering with emotion and saw movement in the bed in front of Puck as someone tossed and turned. She continued to watch as Puck wrapped himself even more closely around the smaller figure barely making out the hushed whisper of his reassurances in the sleeping girl's ear.

"Shh Berry you're ok. Shhhh," he mumbled something else but Quinn couldn't catch it over the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

She knew she should be shocked but somehow she wasn't. She had seen that little moment between them in the school hallway when their attention had been so intently focused on each other right before Puck had come to her to make yet another plea to be with her and their unborn child although she knew neither one of them had registered her interest. She hadn't been immune to the chemistry they had displayed during their brief fling a few weeks ago, heck it had actually perked her own interest briefly in the father of her child but he had only had eyes for Rachel. Seeing them together now seemed right somehow, she knew that they would both be hurt by the fact she and Finn had reunited but perhaps they could find the comfort they needed in each other.

She felt a hand grasping her arm but barely registered it.

"Quinn is she decent, can I go in?"

Those words were enough to snap her out of her stupor and she turned immediately from the doorway placing her hand on Finn's chest preventing him from entering the room and being witness to the scene that had completely floored her.

"She's sleeping Finn perhaps you should just call her tomorrow."

"Uh yeah I guess that makes sense. I guess we may as well go home then, we still have to figure out what to tell my mom about the fact that you're back living with us again."

Quinn followed him down the stairs and out the front door still trying to get a handle on just what a crazy night this had been.

**RPOV**

She woke slowly feeling like she had been run over by a bus, her head ached, her throat was scratchy from crying and she was desperate to go to the bathroom. She could feel the heat of a body pressed up against her back and the weight of a leg thrown over hers and the memory of the night before instantly rushed back into the forefront of her mind.

Noah had come to her at a time when she had truly believed that she had no-one outside of her own family who cared, he had stayed with her throughout the night as she was plagued by nightmares that she couldn't quite remember and he was still here now when she woke.

She felt the pressure in her bladder grow but was reluctant to move, reluctant to wake him and begin what could only be a very awkward morning between them. She could feel the warmth of his calloused hand splayed across her bare stomach where her shirt had ridden up, she felt the way it tightened on her for a moment before it relaxed again and felt the change in the feel of his breath against her neck, a sure sign that he was now also awake.

She waited for the inevitable bolt and run he would do from her bed, unconsciously holding her breath as she waited for him too to desert her but instead she felt his fingers stroke lightly against her skin in a soothing motion.

"Morning Berry," he said his voice rough with sleep.

She tried to find her voice to respond but was at a loss as she realised that his response was not going to be that which she had expected. She chanced a look over her shoulder and was surprised by the dark stormy eyes staring back at her, un-nameable emotions swirling within their depths.

"Guess you're not a morning person huh?" he asked with a shrug. "I'll have to keep that in mind for next time."

Finally his words seemed to register and she rolled quickly so that she could face him, noticing as she did the broad arm she had been using as a pillow still rested beneath her neck.

"What do you mean next time?" she squeaked hoping he didn't notice the flash of her emotion in her eyes at the thought of waking up like this each morning. Silently she scolded herself for allowing the idea to permeate the thick walls she thought she had built up around herself after all this time of being lonely. She knew those walls had taken a beating lately by allowing her feelings for Finn to take hold but, she mentally steeled herself as the other events of last night flashed through her mind, she wasn't ready to completely throw in the towel just yet. She could still maintain her dignity, put up the front of not being bothered by all that had happened, it might just take some work. She told herself that this wasn't about Noah himself this was more about having someone who actually cared about her without a biological reason for doing so.

He chuckled slightly before continuing. "Don't worry Berry I'm only half serious," he said with his signature smirk but looking in his eyes although she could see he was trying hard to project his usual Puck persona she knew his heart wasn't in it. He was hurting, just like she was, he was just better at hiding it than she was.

Her bladder forcefully reminded her of its presence once more and she pulled away from him intent on relieving herself. His arm came around her back, his hand pressing into the small of her back, holding her in place and preventing her escape.

"Noah... ahh Puck I really need you to release me."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Oh really and why exactly is that?"

"Because if you don't I'm going to explode," she said with a groan wrenching herself away from him and making a dash for the bathroom across the hall.

When she came back she found he was still comfortably ensconced in her bed, lying on his back with his hands tucked behind his head watching her as she entered the room once more. She thought for a moment that she had seen a look of pure misery in his eyes as she entered the room but it had passed so quickly that she couldn't be sure. Whatever the look had been it disappeared as he smirked at her once again, bringing one hand out from behind his head he crooked a finger at her beckoning her towards him.

"Come here," he said the smirk never leaving his face.

She felt a flush staining her cheeks as she looked into his eyes, his reasons for wanting her to come back to bed more than obvious. A voice inside her head was screaming at her to get as far away from him as possible but another voice, quieter but no less insistent was telling her to lose herself in the distraction that he was offering. She wasn't silly enough to believe that this would be anything more than a welcome distraction from the events of the night before for either one of them but she couldn't help but remember just how good it had been rolling around on that very bed with Noah a couple of weeks before. She could easily recall the feelings of passion and excitement he had elicited in her with his touch. What he was offering was really the perfect distraction from all of the heartache that she was currently experiencing.

She realised in that moment that she had already made her decision the moment he had turned on the 'Puck' charm, she wasn't necessarily sure that it was the right decision but a decision had been made nonetheless. Pulling her shoulders back she approached him, the look of confidence on her face barely wavering for a second before she schooled her features once again into her own version of his smirk. The grin on his face grew as he took in her body language, certain that this time he was definitely going to get to touch her boobs and quite possibly a whole lot more.

She stopped beside the bed suddenly unsure as to just what she was supposed to do. Should she just launch herself at him and let nature take care of the rest, should she act like one of those girls she had seen in movies and act like a sex kitten crawling up the bed towards him or should she be a little more subdued about the whole thing and simply climb into the bed next to him and wait for him to make the first move? So many questions were racing through her mind and she didn't have the slightest clue how to answer any of them, as she paused in indecision she watched almost in a daze as he raised a hand towards her seemingly in slow motion and she mentally prepared herself to be tugged down onto the bed. That however was not what happened; instead he sat up slightly, tracing one solitary finger up the smooth skin of her arm, so lightly that it was no more than a whisper against her skin. Involuntarily she quivered the excitement his touch gave her almost more than she could handle.

His finger continued its journey up over her shoulder and around to the back of her neck before his hand cupped her head angling it down towards his and sealing her lips with his own. They remained like that for an impossibly long moment, his lips barely moving against her own until he felt her relax into the kiss and only then did he attempt to deepen it. She sighed with content and heard an answering rumble of satisfaction from his chest as her tongue darted out to meet his. His hand tightened on her neck as his other hand found its way to her back, sliding underneath the material of her shirt and she was momentarily reminded of the scene she had witnessed between Santana and Matt the night before, it disappeared almost immediately though as she felt the warmth of his fingers rubbing against her bare skin. She leaned forward wanting to feel more of him than just his hands on her neck and back, lifting a knee onto the bed she pressed her breasts into his chest and was rewarded by what was fast becoming her favourite sound in the world, another groan of satisfaction.

She brought her other knee up onto the bed, sliding one across his body so that she was now straddling him, a tiny gasp of pleasure escaping her lips as she felt the rough denim of his jeans scraping against her panties, the contact made possible by the way her skirt had ridden up her thighs.

Not that he seemed to be complaining, the hand that had been rubbing slow circles on her back came to rest on her thigh, his thumb tracing small circles on her hip bone and she felt her body begin to melt at his touch. He dragged his mouth away from hers, drawing some much needed air into his lungs as she lowered her head to his neck, her teeth and tongue teasing the skin there before moving to his earlobe.

She could feel his erection growing and pulsing beneath her and decided she was due for some fun, it really wasn't fair that she was always the one on the receiving end of his torture. She rocked her hips against him hearing the hiss of his breath through his teeth as his own hips bucked beneath her. She couldn't contain her laughter in that moment as a bubble of pure joy erupted inside of her. Her laughter almost immediately became a moan though as he slid his hand under the elastic of her panties kneading the flesh of her ass and her eyes connected with his. Their eyes caught and held for a moment before he buried his face in her neck his teeth grazing over the pulse point causing another moan to escape her lips.

Their moment was upon them, they were finally at the point where they could both freely give into the feelings that were coursing through the two of them. Although she had never imagined this scenario when she had daydreamed of the moment that she would lose her virginity, at that moment it didn't matter. She was ready to see this all the way through.

Her hand slid down between their bodies cupping him through his jeans and she could swear that as his head fell back against the pillow that his eyes momentarily rolled back into his head, her fingers found the button of his jeans clumsily attempting to open it before finally it co-operated with her eager fingers and slid through the hole. She grasped the tab of his zipper easing it down over the huge bulge that his jeans were just barely able to contain when suddenly his hand was on her wrist halting her movements, her eyes flew to his face in shock and she almost groaned as she saw the look of resignation settle on his features.

"Stop Berry, we have to talk."

This time she made no attempt to contain her groan of disappointment as his hands settled on her hips lifting her up and off him, placing her beside him on the bed. The absolute last thing she wanted to do right now was talk!


	3. Revelations

**AN:- Hey all, I know I've been absolutely pathetic in updating lately but I'm finally back. This chapter after three attempts at writing it turned out completely different to what I had originally planned but on the whole I think I'm pretty happy with the end result. Hopefully you all will be too. This is the last chapter of this particular story apart from the epilogue which I will hopefully post tomorrow sometime. I know I don't really deserve it but please review and let me know what you think, who knows it may even give me the necessary motivation to pump out a chapter of one of my other stories.**

**Disclaimer:- As always I own nothing...**

Needless to say the talk had not gone well as evidenced by the stinging sensation in his cheek still present more than an hour after she had unceremoniously thrown him out of her bedroom quickly followed by his dismissal from her house. The shoe flying past his head leaving him in no doubt that he was no longer welcome there.

He rubbed his throbbing jaw thoughtfully; Rachel it seemed was just as proficient at slapping his face as she was at hitting those high notes. It wasn't like he had meant to bring up Finn, or for it to have sounded as if he was possibly insinuating that she had just been using him in an effort to forget about the quarterback and his blonde, pregnant, cheerleader girlfriend. Ok so perhaps that was what he had meant but he hadn't meant for her to get so bent out of shape about it. He had just been pointing out the obvious or so he had thought, but now after the reaction he had gotten he wasn't so sure.

About the only thing he could be sure of at this moment was that whatever it was that had almost begun between him and Rachel in her bed the night before and this morning it was all totally shot to hell now. There was no chance that she was ever going to let him anywhere near her again and while that should probably have been a relief for some reason he was feeling anything but relieved and that bothered the hell out of him.

The last week since the whole babygate scandal had broken had been rough to put it mildly. People at school had inevitably taken sides and unsurprisingly no-one had really taken the time to try and see things from his point of view. He was the designated villain of the story allowing Finn of course to play the role of the sympathetic hero and while he knew that there was no doubt that Finn had been royally screwed over by the totally fucked up situation it pissed him off that everyone had been so quick to assume that he was just the asshole who had knocked up his best friends girl. Quinn sure as hell had been no angel and yet very few people seemed to have pointed the finger at her for her part in things and judging by last night now it seemed even Finn had forgiven her.

No-one it seemed would even look him in the eye after the truth came out, well no-one except Berry he quickly amended, although that moment in the hallway had been so fast that anyone watching could have blinked and missed it, for that brief millisecond Rachel had met his eyes and without saying a word he had known she was apologising to him for her role in his destruction. He had seen the guilt swimming in her eyes as she walked away from Quinn and approached him and even though he had wanted nothing more than to take it all away he had remained silent hoping that his eyes could do the talking for him much as hers had done for her. He had continued past her anxious to get to Quinn and make yet another plea to be allowed to be part of his little girl's life but later that night as he had laid in his bed replaying all of the events of the day complete with yet another rejection from Quinn he had replayed that moment with Rachel over in his head wondering if she understood just how little blame he held for her in this entire fuck up that was his life at the moment. And now in true Puck fashion he had managed to totally screw things up with her as well, what he still didn't understand is why the hell it even mattered.

His mind wandered back to her room and the events of this morning, the way she had been grinding herself against him, the way she had been using that hot little mouth of hers to drive him completely insane and wondered once again just what the hell he had been thinking when he had called a stop to things. He had seriously had to resist the urge to look around the room for someone else when he heard the words _"we need to talk"_ come out of his mouth. Surely there was no way in hell that he had actually been the one to say them but the disbelief quickly followed by shame in Rachel's eyes as she gazed down at him had quickly dispelled that notion. He was indeed the dumb fuck that had put the brakes on just when things were getting interesting, was it any wonder Rachel had reacted the way she had? Now it was up to him to somehow fix it.

Rolling over he made a grab for his cell phone but almost immediately threw it down again in disgust, there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that she would even answer a call from him right now and besides what he needed to say probably shouldn't be done over the phone. He knew he still had more than an hour before his mom was due home from work and his sister wasn't due home from her friend's house for another hour or two so if he was going to go and see Rachel and try to make things right now was the time to do it. He briefly considered testing the waters by sending her a text but knew that if he didn't man up and go over there then Rachel would probably never speak to him again and that would mean there would be no repeats of the events on her bed this morning. Hey he may have grown a conscience and be feeling bad for what had occurred but he was still a teenage boy and he had needs and right now he didn't want anyone other than Rachel helping him out in that department.

Getting up from his bed he walked across the hall to the bathroom checking his reflection out in the mirror with a grin, there was no doubt about it, once Berry heard what he had to say and was confronted with the ol' Puck charm, there was no way she would be able to turn him down. Feeling some of his old confidence return he grabbed his keys and headed out the door, jumping in his truck he took off towards the Berry's home convinced that he would make her see sense.

Twenty minutes later as he pounded his fist against her front door for the umpteenth time he was fast coming to the realisation that maybe just maybe he had been wrong. After all it was a bit hard to fully unleash the Puckerman charm on her when she wouldn't even open the door.

"Rachel I told you I was sorry now open the damn door already."

For a moment all he heard was silence on the other side of the door and he wondered if she was even still standing there, for all he knew she was safely hidden away in her room with some of those god awful show tunes blasting in her ears from her IPod. Just when he was about to give up and leave to try and come up with a new plan to get her to talk to him he heard her voice.

"My hearing is more than adequate Noah Puckerman, I heard every word you said and like I already told you I think it would be for the best if you just left and we forgot that this whole thing ever happened."

"Rachel just open the door, look I know I fucked up this morning and I acted like an asshole..."

"Noah if you honestly believe that using such profanity is going to help your cause and compel me to offer my forgiveness for your uncouth behaviour then I really don't think you and I have anything further to discuss because its increasingly apparent that you don't know me at all."

"Damn it Berry why can't you just tell me not to cuss like a normal person would? Why do you always have to sound like you swallowed a damn dictionary?"

The door swung open and she stood glaring at him. "There is absolutely nothing erroneous Noah about expressing oneself through an expansive vocabulary; it allows me to accurately articulate all that I am currently undergoing."

"Not if no-one has a clue what you're damn well talking about," he said heatedly. "But I guess at least you finally opened the door. Look I know I fuc... screwed up this morning but I didn't mean it how it sounded."

"So you're telling me that you didn't mean to imply that the whole time I was with you last night and this morning that I was pretending you were Finn?" She stood there tapping her foot impatiently waiting for his answer and he knew that everything was pretty much riding on what he said next.

"That wasn't exactly what I said," he began and saw her hand move to grip the door firmly, if it weren't for his lightning fast reflexes in that moment he would have found himself once again talking to her door but he pushed his foot up against the door jamb effectively preventing her from slamming it in his face.

"If you're just going to play word games Noah then you can just leave. I don't have the energy for it anymore," she sighed, the anger dissolving out of her as she seemingly deflated right in front of his eyes.

"Look Berry, last night was some pretty screwy shit," he saw the flash of hurt in her eyes and hastened to continue. "Not what happened between us, I meant the stuff that happened before. I'm sure you probably thought that you were finally going to get Hudson and I had hoped to have another chance with Quinn to try and convince the psycho bitch to let me be a dad to my baby girl."

Rachel's face betrayed her obvious shock as she took in his words about the pregnant cheerio. For once she was shocked into silence and he seized the moment to get out everything he needed to say.

"Rach you and I aren't exactly a match made in heaven but somehow it just works between us. I lied to you that day on the bleachers when I told you that I was going to break up with you that was just me trying to save face. I couldn't believe it when you decided to break up with me, I thought things were just starting to get good between us and you were finally starting to see me as something other than a way to make Finn jealous and then you completely blew that out of the water and I couldn't let you see that I didn't want things to end. I didn't want your pity and that's all I would have gotten from you so I said all that stuff and then in the next few weeks I did my best to forget all about you. I tried to focus on Quinn and the baby but nothing I did was ever good enough for her and even when it finally looked like I had a chance with her I totally screwed it up. It wasn't until later that I realised that maybe I had done it deliberately."

Rachel stood staring at him, her mouth hanging open as she tried to process everything he had just told her. She didn't know he was capable of speaking that much in one go, but that wasn't what had left her so totally and completely gobsmacked. She had watched his face as he spoke, looked right into his eyes and had known without a shadow of a doubt that everything he was saying was the absolute truth. The Puck mask had been completely stripped away and this was Noah utterly defenceless and unguarded.

"When you came barrelling into the room last night absolutely hysterical for all of about two seconds I thought about just sneaking out and leaving you, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave you like that when I knew exactly how you were feeling. You want to be with Finn and even though your reasons are different to mine, the only reason I'd get within ten feet of Fabray is because of that baby in her belly, I know how much it sucks to be rejected."

"Wait," Rachel said, the use of her voice finally returning to her, "You think I was so upset because I'm in love with Finn?"

Puck just nodded, surely she wasn't going to try and deny it now, practically the whole school knew about Rachel Berry's unrequited love for the quarterback.

"Noah the reason I was crying was because I finally realised that I don't even know Finn Hudson, how on earth can I be in love with someone who isn't even real? Ever since I was thirteen I've had the ideal of what my perfect boyfriend would be like and when Finn joined Glee I somehow convinced myself that Finn was it. I ignored all of the things about him that didn't fit this perfect picture I had inside my head. I barely even registered anything about the real Finn because I was just so convinced that he was the boy I had been waiting for. Last night was just the final straw because I realised that I've been putting Finn up on this pedestal without allowing myself to see him for who he really is. Finn's a great guy but he's not the guy for me. In fact even though I never thought I would say this I think he and Quinn actually belong together, they're good for each other in a way that Finn and I could never be."

"Well then why the hell did you get so mad this morning when I brought him up?" Puck asked thoroughly confused.

"I got mad Noah because I thought you and I had come to some kind of understanding last night and instead I found that you still thought that the only reason I was with you was because I couldn't have Finn. You actually thought that when I kissed you this morning that I was imagining you were Finn and while I may have been guilty of that in the past..."

"Wait, what?" Puck tried to interrupt but Rachel held up a hand silencing him so she could finish.

"This morning was totally about you and I and the only person I wanted to be with was you. The truth is you fit practically none of the criteria that I thought I required in a boyfriend except I guess for the fact that you are indeed a boy but apart from that and how well you sing nothing about you is what I thought I wanted. But I'm starting to realise that all of the things that I thought I wanted don't really matter as much as I thought they did. The way you dress, the way you speak and the fact that you have absolutely no interest in Broadway means nothing when I compare it to the way you can make me feel. You may pride yourself on being a badass and a stud Noah Puckerman but I've started to realise that neither of those things are who you really are. I've seen a completely different side to you Noah and I really like what I've seen. I've seen the boy who will put aside his own pain to comfort me when I'm at my lowest, the boy who would give up football just to be with me and a boy who would risk his entire reputation just to fulfil my silly wish of seeing you perform a solo by serenading me in front of the whole Glee Club. Those are the kinds of things that count Noah and trust me when I say Finn Hudson has nothing on you. You are the type of person..."

"Rachel, stop talking."

"What... But I thought," he held up a hand causing her words to die in her throat.

"For fuck's sake just stop talking and kiss me."

He watched as the confusion melted from her face replaced by what had to be the most brilliant smile he had ever seen, before she launched herself into his arms. His lips found hers as he tangled one hand into her hair and pulled her in close with his free arm.

He broke his lips away from hers moving them to her ear, she shivered as she felt his hot breath against the side of her face and neck.

"I think it's time you and I finished what we started this morning and just so you know Rach I totally intend to touch your boobs."

Hysterical laughter bubbled from her lips as she pushed the door closed behind him and lead him up to her bedroom.

_Sometimes you don't necessarily get what you wished for but what you get in its place is so much more than you could have ever hoped for._


	4. Epilogue

**AN:- Wow who would have thought I actually managed to follow through on my promise to post the epilogue less than 24 hours after I posted the last chapter of my little story. I'd like to thank each and everyone of you who has read, reviewed, favourited and set an alert for this story. Your support has meant a lot to me and I'm glad so many of you have seemed to enjoy this story. Some of you did request through reviews and messages that I continue this story but considering that it was only ever intended to be a one shot I think I will leave it here. Plus it was also just supposed to be about what happened in the time between when we last saw New Directions at Sectionals and when we saw them again performing for Mr Schue. For those of you who can I would recommend rewatching the scene in Sectionals where they perform for Mr Schue before you read this chapter.**

**For those of you who read my other stories I have the next chapter of Life Or Something Like It all planned out and now just have to find the time to write it but if all goes to plan that should be in the next few days. I have also planned out the first eleven chapters of a new story which I don't intend to publish until I wrap up at least one more of my stories. Hopefully a new chapter of Don't Tell won't be far away either. Anyway I have rambled on enough, thank you once again to all of you wonderful readers. Hope you enjoy the wrap up of When Life Gets You Down.**

**Disclaimer:- I own nothing from the Glee-verse so please don't sue me.**

**Six months later**

Rachel heard the thud of a boot connecting with the carpet from somewhere behind her and rolled over in her bed trying to stifle the grin of pure happiness that painted itself across her face as soon as she saw her boyfriend smirking at her.

"Noah Puckerman, you know very well what my father said the last time he caught you in here without coming through the front door. I can't believe you're prepared to place yourself once again in a situation filled with such inherent danger."

Almost unconsciously his hand came to cup his balls protectively before he realised what he was doing and removed his hand.

"How many times do I have to tell you Rach, I'm a badass? Your dads' don't scare me."

"You weren't such a badass last week," she giggled.

She had to stifle a giggle as the image from a week before of Noah hot-footing it across her front lawn totally naked with his clothes strategically positioned in his hands so as not to give old Mrs Feinberg across the street a heart attack at the sight of him flittered across her mind. It was amazing just how fast Noah could move with her daddy leaning through the window her boyfriend had just jumped out of threatening him with castration. The sight almost as funny as the scene at Temple a couple of days later when the pair had been confronted with Mrs Feinberg herself and found out just how poor a job Noah had done of covering up the goods. While naturally Rachel had been mortified initially at the idea of her elderly Jewish neighbour knowing that she has sex with her boyfriend, her embarrassment had soon turned to hysterical laughter as she had watched Mrs Feinberg running her hand up and down Noah's bicep and asking if he would possibly be available to come over later and clean out her gutters. Noah's eyes had almost bugged out of his head and Rachel had teased him for hours afterwards about his latest cougar.

He toed his sneakers off as he made his way towards her, pulling his sweatshirt and wife beater over his head in one fluid motion. He smirked at her as his hand dropped to the button on his jeans watching as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

It never failed to amaze her, the effect he could have on her with just the slightest quirk of his eyebrow. He wouldn't have to utter a single word and she would practically melt into a big pile of mush. To say that they had an active sex life would be putting things mildly but their relationship was so much more than the physical although of course being that Noah enjoyed his reputation as a Grade A stud he was loath to admit to or show the other side of him while they were in public especially at school. But the truth was every person at that school from Principal Figgins to the lowliest freshman knew just how much Noah Puckerman worshipped the ground Rachel Berry walked on and vice versa, most were just smart enough to not make a big deal out of it. A few of the football players had learnt the hard way in the early days of Puckleberry not to attempt to rib Noah Puckerman about his new girlfriend no matter how good natured it was intended to be.

Probably the hardest part had been breaking the news of their burgeoning relationship to their fellow members of New Directions. Everything that had happened with Finn and Quinn was still so fresh in everyone's minds and Rachel had been extremely reluctant add a new element to the babygate drama. Before they had attended their first Glee Club after Sectionals she had spent an entire hour trying to convince him with words why they shouldn't tell anyone just yet, unsurprisingly when she started using her body to bring him around to her way of thinking she had him agreeing to just about anything in a matter of minutes.

It still made her laugh now to think how despite her certainty that no-one could possibly have any idea about her new involvement with Noah somehow every one of them right down to the usually clueless Brittany had guessed that there was something going on between them by the time the group had finished singing their special number for Mr Schue. She had believed everyone would just assume that the fact she couldn't wipe the smile off her face as they presented their trophy to Mr Schue was due to their Sectionals win and she had thought that perhaps no-one would pick up on the fact she had finished Noah's sentence for him as he had interrupted Mr Schue so they could perform their Kelly Clarkson number. She had actually believed that she had been discreet as she had danced up against him even if his hands did graze her hips just a little more than was strictly necessary but after all she had slapped Finn and Mike on the butt directly prior to dancing against Noah and no-one had jumped to any conclusions about anything going on with either of them. But she guessed all of those clues added in with the way Noah had smiled down at her as they jumped up and down next to each other had been more than enough for their fellow Glee Clubbers to realise that there was indeed something going on.

Although things had been awkward at first especially with Finn she had been surprised at how easily everyone other than the quarterback had accepted her relationship with Noah. Even Kurt and Mercedes were slightly less obnoxious these days in their treatment of her and she knew that probably had a lot to do with just how much more relaxed she had become with Noah in her life. Even though she was as determined to succeed as ever she no longer stormed out of rehearsals when things didn't go her way and she had even been known on an occasion or two to recommend Tina or Mercedes for a solo that she thought would suit their vocal styles.

Things had been more difficult for Puck, Finn still hadn't forgiven him for impregnating Quinn and although they had called an uneasy truce for the sake of Glee Club and the baby it seemed unlikely that they would ever really get back to having the friendship they once had. Things however had settled down between him and Matt and Mike and he had retained his position on the football team and had actually found himself developing a friendship with Artie over their shared love of punk rock. The two of them could often be found together jamming on their guitars when they had a free period or after Glee practice was over. He'd even started attending more math classes although could still be found in the nurses office for his customary nap at least once a week despite Rachel's best efforts to break him of that habit.

She was broken out of her trip down memory lane by Noah's voice as he came to stand in front of her wearing nothing but his boxers.

"What are you smiling at Sexy?" he asked. "As much as I'd like to think that it's the hot body in front of you, you look like you're a million miles away?"

She smiled up at him as she patted the bed beside her. "While there is no doubt in my mind Noah that you are quite an impressive package," she saw the smirk on his face and hurriedly continued. "I said that you were an impressive package, not that you have one," she told him giggling as he preened in front of her. "I was just thinking about everything that's happened in the last few months. Who would have ever thought in that horrible week leading up to Sectionals that things could have turned out this wonderful?"

"Yeah it was pretty fucked up hey," he said to her grinning at the dirty look she shot him for his language, "But Rach I guess sometimes you just got to go through the shit to get to the good stuff. Oh speaking of good stuff," he grinned as she rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Hey I wasn't talking about me, or at least not only about me. I was going to tell you I got some new pics of the baby. My little girl is one gorgeous munchkin and is totally gonna be a badass just like her daddy."

"Noah, little Bella is only two weeks old, how can you possibly know that she's going to be as you described it so eloquently a 'badass'."

"Trust me Rach, sometimes a father just knows, just like I know I should have tried harder to stop Quinn from naming her after that Pansy Ass Vampire movie."

Rachel laughed at the look on his face knowing that if she didn't change the subject soon she would be in for another rant on just what a lame way that was to name their kid.

"So she's settled in well with her new family?" Rachel asked, watching as the shadow of hurt briefly flickered in his eyes before they cleared and he once again smiled.

"Yeah Rach I really think we made the right decision when Quinn and I chose them, they just seem like really good people you know. Much better for her than that psycho Mr Schue was married to. I really think my little girl is gonna grow up right with them and having an open adoption just makes it so much easier, especially because I can still go see her sometimes. At least my little girl's going to grow up knowing who I am."

"Well Noah I guess you could show me the photos now or perhaps since my fathers' aren't due home for another hour you could maybe put this time to better use and you can show me the photos afterwards."

She stood up in front of him, their bodies barely a hairs breadth apart and reached out a finger to trace the ridge of muscles on his abdomen. He groaned as her hand dropped lower, tracing the line of his boxer shorts. "The photos can wait," he said wrapping both arms around her and pushing her back onto the bed, "You and I have got much more important things to take care of right now."

She squealed with laughter as his hands practically tore her skirt from her body. "Little Puck has missed you," he said with a smirk causing her to break into laughter again before his lips found hers and pretty soon the only sounds either one of them were making were moans of pleasure as Puck set about showing Rachel just how much 'Little Puck' had missed her.


End file.
